On the Waterfront 4K 1954 Ultra HD 2160p

The plot centers on the fate of a simple docker - Terry Mallow, tormented by doubts and decides to take the path of restoring justice, after it turns out that he works for a real gangster - the corrupt boss of port dockers Johnny Friendly.

User Review
In fact, there are few classic films that can be understood even by ordinary viewers. Elia Kazan's creation can be referred to this category, because even though the movie has a powerful artistic component, it is surprisingly easy to perceive, making you come back to it again and again.

According to the plot we are offered to observe the 'eternal boy' Terry Malloy, who was a boxer in the past, but unfortunately never achieved anything in life. As he himself is quite shallow, and people he causes a mixture of fear and contempt, because his brother is the right hand of the local mafia boss. In turn, the latter uses Terry for his own selfish purposes, cleverly framing him for the 'guilty' in the murder. And looking at what is happening in the city, the protagonist has to make the main choice in his life - and everything is shown exactly as it could happen in real life. After all, often for the sake of ideals have to sacrifice a lot ...

Once again remembering the plot, one cannot help but realize that the script is the strongest point of the production, it is it that makes the movie eternally relevant. Vividly spelled out three-dimensional characters, really exciting social background, unique dialogues - here is an example of ideal script work.

And among the actors Marlon Brando, who played one of his best roles, was undoubtedly the ruler here. It seems that here he even somehow changed his appearance, so that as convincingly as possible to embody on the screen the image of tight on the mind, but distinguishing good from evil guy. The actor is equally convincing and in moments of grief for the killed pigeons, and when clumsily wooed the girl, and of course even when confessing to a priest right in the middle of the street. Which, by the way, played wonderfully by Karl Molden - his holy father is a real hero, the embodiment of light in this dark, rotten city. It is with his character arises the most philosophical allusions, especially in such moments, where he for example making a speech, being at the same time above all his listeners and throwing food at him - in all senses. His eyes really burn with fire, on the screen really managed to embody a truly strong personality. Good and Lee J. Cobb as a nasty gangster, and Eva Marie Saint, embodying the angel-like sister of the one who was victimized by Brando's character. We could go on at length about how this is one of the strongest acting ensembles of those years, but that's already an obvious fact.

Despite its age, Kazan's best work never gets old, as the emotional part has retained its power, and is just as impressive as it was back in 1954, when the film academics decided to give the movie a whole bunch of 'Oscars' as a sign that there was indeed an example of true art in front of us. Dynamics never once fades during the viewing, and moreover, as it should be, closer to the finale, the events take on an increasingly passionate intensity. And at the same time everything is not as clear-cut as it seems - it is quite difficult to predict how this story will end, so there is a certain sense to watch the movie knowing almost nothing about it.

Terry's fate is tragic, and from this even more interesting - for all the time of the action he will lose a close person, as well as the respect of others. All his dreams will be shattered by the cruel, unforgiving reality, and he will finally come to the realization that he has essentially wasted his life. Which is vividly emphasized by the memorable dialogue between Terry and his brother. And all this once again emphasizes that this is not a spiritually uplifting ballad at all, although the concept may bring such thoughts to mind. There is no need to shy away from the fact that this is a truly dark, depressing movie that touches on important human themes and perfectly reveals their essence throughout the two-hour running time. The visuals, which effectively emphasize the mood of those years, as well as the soundtrack, which at first glance seems not quite different from the iconic films of the 50s, but still makes a significant contribution to the overall brilliant result.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (86.6 Mb/s)
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1
#French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
#German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
#Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
#Spanish (Latino): DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
#Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono

Info Subtitles

English SDH, Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish.